Missile Defense Agency rounds out ballistic-missile interceptor plan

FORT BELVOIR, Va. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has finalized the third leg in its technology risk-reduction plan for the Multi-Object Kill Vehicle (MOKV), awarding Boeing a $58 million contract in a deal similar to those recently granted to Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.

In 2015, MDA issued initial risk- reduction contracts to Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon to develop the MOKV, which MDA plans to send into space to intercept any incoming ballistic missiles. The MOKV is specifically intended to handle a single missile with decoys using kill vehicles that communicate with one another.

In its contract announcement, the Pentagon stated: "This contract represents part of the Missile Defense Agency's technology risk-reduction strategy to improve performance and reduce risk for MOKV advanced communications, engagement management, and the discriminating seeker."

The Department of Defense (DoD) plans to unveil a prototype during 2018 in hopes of demonstrating a capability it believes will strengthen the U.S. missile defense architecture by flipping the current paradigm, which is limited to a single kill vehicle per warhead. The DoD aims to arm the MOKV to deal with threats as soon as 2025 and be compatible with existing boosters in the Ballistic Missile Defense System architecture, including the ground-based interceptor, Standard Missile-3, and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems.